Telegraph reading machine



July 28, 1931. A. WEAVER TELEGRAPH READING MACHINE Filed June 29, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BY din/Eager ATTORNEY July 28, 1931.

A. WEAVER TELEGRAPH READI NG MACHINE Filed June 29, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @R o O Q 0 0 o INVENTOR BY 1 WW %l az u-u,

ATTORNEY g 25 ining the area covered Patented Jilly 28, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALLAN WEAVER, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ssreNOR '10 AmEaIcAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION on NEW YORK TELEGRAPH READING nrAorrINE Application filed June 29, 1929. Serial No. 374,909.

This invention relates to the transmission of intelligence by telegraph, and more particularly to the conversion of printed characters into'a telegraph code.

The principal object of the invention is the reading of printed characters and their translation into the units of a telegraph code in the manner which is simplest and the most consistent with the efiicient use of line time.

In the operation of a printing telegraph service, for instance, the message or copy to be transmitted is handed to an operator in the printer room, and this operator then either punches a tape or sends the message ougl'. directly over the line in the telegraph 00 e.

In accordance with the present invention,

the copy may be slipped into a machine which may be termed a telegraph reading machine, and the remaining operations will be automatic.

In general, I employ a photo-electric cell and certain novel arran ements for examy a printed character, and cause the o eration of the photoelectric cell resulting rom the inspection of the area of the character to control the operation of a plurality of selecting elements, which form a part of a perforator or a transmitter (both well known in the art of printing telegraphy), to produce the code sym-j bols to be transmitted over a telegraph line- The invention will be clearly understood when the following description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 of the drawing shows diagrammatically the arrangement of apparatus and circuits employed in one desirable embodiment; Fig. 2 shows the area covered by a character and indicates one novel feature of my inspecting method; Fig. 3 shows in detail one element more generally disclosed in Fig.

1; and Fig. 4 shows certain fixed sub-areas disk. The plate PL likewise has five holes of the area'covered by the various characters and indicates the manner in which the code for each character is determined.

I select a definite number of fixed subareas of the area covered by a character and pass the line or lines formin each character through one or more of t ese fixed subareas- In connection with the method to be specifically discussed hereinafter and the particular arrangement disclosed, I choose five sub-areasand employ a five-unit code. The five sub-areas may be examined simultaneously or in sequence, but in the preferred form of my telegraph reading machine I ex-, amine the sub-areas in sequence.

With reference to the drawing, a sheet of paper P, upon which it is assumed thatcharacters are printed, is held in place on a carriage C, which is preferably similar to that of a standard typewriter. The light from a source B, with which is associated a mirror M, passes through a diffusing. screen SC," which may be ground glass, and eventually through a lens L to fall upon the area of the character which is being read. In order that the fixed sub-areas may be illuminated in sequence while no other portion of-the large area is illuminated, I emplo a disk D and and a plate PL. The location of the subareas selected is to be noted in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows clearly that the disk D has pierced through it five holes, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, differently spaced from the periphery of the through it so located that when the disk D- revolves, the pair of holes designated by like numerals will line up to pass light to the five sub-areas in sequence. w

A photo-electric cell PC is located to receive any light reflected from the paper area under examination. It will of course be understood that if the beam of light falls upon a sub-area which is uncovered by a line of a will be operated, whereas if the beam of light falls upon a sub-area covered by the character, the cell PC will not respond, or in another sense, will respond in the opposite direction. Any suitable amplifier may be included in the output circuit of the cell PC.

In the particular circuit arrangement disclosed in Fig. l, I employ a two-stage vacuum tube amplifier comprising the threeelectrode vacuum tubes A and A and the usual resistances 1 and 1 A relay R has its winding included in the plate-filament circuit of the tube A the contact of this relay being normally open. It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that with the particular amplifier arrangement disclosed, if an uncovered sub-area is illuminated, there will be a decrease of current in the plate-filament circuit of the tube A and the relay R will be unoperated, but if a covered area is inspected, the plate-filament current of the tube A will increase, the relay R will operate, and the contact of that relay will be closed.

The disk D is caused to revolve by the operation of a motor, and upon the same shaft are distributor arms D D and D The distributor having arm D is rovided with five small segments S S S3, Stand S spaced in correspondence with the spacing of the holes in disk D. In association with the distributor I provide relays R R R R R and R, and associated with these relays are the magnets SM SM SM SM SM MP and MS. Magnets SM SM SM SM,. and SM are the selecting magnets forming a part of a perforator or a transmitter, as is well understood in the art of printing tclegraphy. The operation of my reading machine will be understood from the following description:

Let it be assumed that the disk D operates to pass a beam of light to sub-area No. 2 of the character area being examined, and that the distributor arm D is in contact with segment S If the sub-area No. 2 is covered by a line of the character, the relay R will operate and battery will be connected to relay R the contact of relay B being connected the distributor arm D as shown. Relay R operates, locks up through its left-hand contact and the distributor having arm D and energizes the selecting magnet SM Simi larly, if any other sub-area is covered, a circuit will be completed through distributor arm D and the corresponding segment of the distributor to the proper relay, and the corresponding selecting magnet will be energized, whereas if any sub-area is uncovered,

the corresponding relay and the corresponding selecting magnet will not be operated.

\Vhen all the five sub-areas have been inspected, the distributor arm D will reach an open space, as is clearly shown in the drawings; the relay locking circuit will be broken; and any of the relays R to R which have been operated, will be released.

The third distributor arm D, is associated with two small segments SS and PS. If none of the relays R to R has been operated, it becomes necessary to produce a spacing signal, and this may be accomplished by providing for the operation of selecting mag net SM for instance. It will be noted that as long as distributor arm D makes contact with the large segment, the operation of any of the relays R to R will cause the operation of relay R, and the circuit from segment SS to relay R, will 'be broken at the open contact of relay R. If, however, no one of the relays has been operated, the relay R remains in its unoperated condition, and when distributor arm D makes contact with segment SS, battery is connected to relay R and the selecting magnet SM is energized to produce the spacing signal. The segment PS of the third distributor is so positioned that after the selecting magnets have been operated, battery will be connected to the magnet MP, which may function as a punching device.

The connection from distributor segment PS to the magnet MS, which may function as a spacing magnet, serves to indicate the manner in which provision may be made for spacing, line feed and carriage return operations. For a disclosure of these arrangements, well known in the art, reference may be had to U. S. Patent No. 1,664,652 to Watson and Weaver.

It will be seen from an examination of Fig. 4 of the drawings that if a five-unit code is employed calling for the selection of five fixed subareas, all of the letters of the alpha.- bet, the numerals and the commonly used punctuation marks, as well as certain other generally used characters, may be made each to pass through one or more of the sub-areas, giving a distinctive code combination for each letter or other character; it will be noted, however, that with the use of the five-unit code, certain characters must be changed somewhat from the form which is standardized. However, the characters necessarily modified remain quite recognizable, and it is of course evident that the use of a code of five units instead of a greater number of units results in the more efficient use of line time. If the use of line time is not of first importance in a given case, a code having a number of units greater than five ma employed, with the corresponding modification of the disk D, the plate PL, and the distributor segments, and a closer approach obtained to the standard alphabet.

The following table should be read with reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings, and will show clearly the feasibility of employing my methods and means'of telegraph reading in conjunction with the use of a five unit code.

Lower case Upper case Lower case Upper Code case Code I have not discovered in connection with this invention the equivalent of the standard ty ewriter carriage shift.

vhile the invention has been specifically disclosed for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood'that many changes may be made from the specific disclosure within the S00 e of the appended claims.

at is claimed is:

1. The method of reading characters and converting them into a telegraph code, which consists in examining a plurality of fixed subareas of the area covered by a character, controlling the operation of a single light-sensitive device in accordance with the characteristics of the sub-areas examined, and operating selecting means in accordance Carriage return. Line feed.

- with the operation of the light-sensitive device.

2. The method of reading characters and converting them into a telegraph code, which consists in examining in sequence a plurality of fixed sub-areas of the area covered by a character, controlling the operation of a single light-sensitive device {in accordance with the characteristics of the sub-areas examined, and operating selecting means in accordance with the operation of the light-sensitive device.

3. A device for converting characters into a telegraph code, comprising a single lightsensitlve device, asource of light, means for I examining a plurality of fixed sub-areas of the area covered by a character and for controlling the operation of said light-sensitive device in accordance with the characteristics of the sub-areas examined, a plurality of-selecting elements, and means for controlling the operation of said selecting elements in accordance with the operation of said lightsensitive. device.

electric cell in accordance with the characteristics of the sub-areas examined, a plurality of selecting elements, and means for controlling the operation of said selecting elements in accordance with the operation of said photo-electric cell.

5. A telegraph readin machine comprising a single photo-electric cell, a source of light, means for examining a plural ty of fixed sub-areasof the area covered by a character and for controlling the operation of said photo-electric cell in accordance with the characteristics of the sub-areas examined,

a plurality of selecting elements, a distributor v eration of said photo-electric cell in accordance with the characteristics of the' sub-areas examined, a plurality of selecting elements,

a distributor arrangement adapted to control the operation of said selecting elements, and means associated with the output circuit of said photo-electric cell for controlling the circuits completed through said distributor arrangement.

In testimony whereof, -I have signed my name to this specification this 28th day of June, 1929. ALLAN WEAVER.

' 4. A device for converting characters into a telegraph code, comprising a single hotoelectric cell, a source of light, means or examinin in sequence a plurality of fixed subareas 0% the area covered by a character and for controlling the operation of said photo- 

